Prior art

To identify the most relevant prior art for US patent 10084840, I will search the USPTO database for the patent and then review its cited references.

US Patent 10084840: Social networking with video annotation

Patent Information:

• Publication Number: US10084840B2
• Publication Date: 2018-09-25
• Filing Date: 2016-09-19
• Assignee: ART RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY LLC
• Inventors: David Hirschfeld, Barry Fernando, Mark C. Phelps, Theodore V. Haig

The patent describes a method and system for annotating playable media files within a social network. Key aspects include receiving a playable media file, creating an annotation, providing it to a network server along with a data profile containing the annotation's visibility location, and then either encoding the data profile into an existing table of contents or creating a new table of contents for the playable media file if it's the first annotation. The annotations can be stored separately from the playable media file and can include various formats like text, video, audio, or pictures. The system also supports initiating discussion threads at specific timeline locations within the media file.

To find the most relevant prior art, I need to examine the patent citations. The "Prior art keywords" listed on the Google Patents page include "media file", "annotation", "file", "playable media", and "computer readable".

Based on the information available, the primary priority claim for US10084840B2 is from US14/170,149, filed on January 31, 2014, which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,451,001. That application, in turn, claimed priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application having Ser. No. 61/759,219, filed on January 31, 2013. These are continuation-in-part relationships, suggesting that the earlier patent, US9451001B2, is a highly relevant piece of prior art.

I will now provide the details of US9451001B2 and its potential anticipation of claims in US10084840B2.

Most Relevant Prior Art Reference:

1. US Patent 9,451,001 (US9451001B2)

• Full Citation: US9451001B2, "Social networking with video annotation", issued September 27, 2016.
• Publication/Filing Date: Priority date of January 31, 2013 (from provisional application US61/759,219); Filing date of January 31, 2014 (for non-provisional application US14/170,149).
• Brief Description: This patent also describes a method and system for annotating playable media files within a social network, including receiving a playable media file, creating an annotation, providing it to a network server with a data profile for visibility, and managing a table of contents for these annotations. It also covers storing annotations separately and initiating discussion threads. The description for US10084840B2 explicitly states that it is a "Continuation-In-Part Patent Application of a U.S. Non-Provisional Patent Application having Ser. No. 14/170,149, filed on Jan. 31, 2104, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,451,001."
• Which claim(s) it potentially anticipates under 35 U.S.C. § 102: Given that US10084840B2 is a Continuation-In-Part of the application that led to US9451001B2, it is highly likely that US9451001B2 anticipates most, if not all, of the independent claims of US10084840B2 (Claims 1, 12, and 23). The core inventive concepts of "receiving a Playable Media File," "creating an annotation," "providing said annotation to a network server," "providing a data profile... comprising a location... where said annotation should be made visible," and the network server's role in "determining if said annotation is a first annotation" and consequently "encoding said data profile in a previously-created table of contents" or "creating a table of contents" are explicitly disclosed in the parent application and its resulting patent, US9451001B2. Therefore, these claims are potentially anticipated under 35 U.S.C. § 102. Dependent claims (2-11, 13-22, 24-33) that further elaborate on these core concepts or add features already present in US9451001B2 would also be anticipated.